Where Feathers Fly In Hampton: Feeding Fowl Fuels Fuss

HAMPTON — In Hampton's Wythe neighborhood, some like the birds. Others haven't noticed them. And yet others seek a law to halt a buffet for the winged.

With pigeons perched on chimneys and flocks of geese and ducks milling about, backyard walks behind a handful of houses on Chesapeake Avenue in Hampton are like strolling through a slick, smelly minefield. And mowing the lawn churns up more than just cut grass.

Danny and Jackie Minton were hoping to connect with nature when they moved into a house with a stunning view stretching from the Chesapeake Bay to the James River. They just weren't expecting dozens of birds mingling next door all year round.

Ask the Mintons what's causing the hubbub and they point next door to Anne and Michael McHenry's yard. The Mintons say that the McHenrys have fed the birds twice a day every day for years.

The McHenrys, who both sit on the Olde Wythe Neighborhood Association, aren't talking.

There's nothing illegal about feeding the birds, and the waterfront lots are along migratory routes, so a bustling bird population isn't so unusual. Some residents say they like the birds, while others say they haven't noticed them. But neighbors nearest to the McHenrys' property are tired of dealing with the flocks and are hoping for a new law in Hampton that would make it illegal to feed migratory waterfowl in certain parts of the city.

The Mintons and other residents recently complained at a City Council meeting and handed a petition to city officials.

The Chesapeake Avenue geese, ducks and pigeons aren't the first flocks to make human enemies in Hampton Roads. This past summer, officials at Riverside Regional Medical Center in Newport News caught flack when they paid the U.S. Department of Agriculture to kill Canada geese around Lake Maury.

Hampton has long struggled to find humane and effective ways to curb the wild turkey population in the Fox Hill neighborhood, where, depending on whom you talk to, the birds are either welcome visitors or a major nuisance.

Nesting seagulls blanket the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, where the Virginia Department of Transportation took heat about a year and a half ago, when wildlife managers were brought in to shoot grown birds and get rid of some eggs.

Bill Mayes has lived on Chesapeake Avenue for 35 years and has watched the bird population explode in the past few years. Mayes thinks the birds are a major health issue; when his grandchildren visit from Florida, the backyard is off limits.

"We can't walk in our yard," he said. "There's manure all over the place, and you'd track it back in the house."

Animal control officers have been called to Chesapeake Avenue three or four times in the past year, but there isn't much they can do.

"All we can do now is advise people that we've had a complaint, it's creating a problem and it's usually more harmful to feed the wildlife," said Doug Schuler, who heads the city's animal control office. "Since they're not yours, you can't be held accountable."

On Sept. 1, it became illegal to feed deer in Virginia. Cities and counties can restrict feeding to certain areas, but in Hampton Roads, only Norfolk has banned residents from feeding all kinds of wildlife, said Stephanie Boyles, a biologist for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Last month, Hampton City Council considered banning residents from feeding migratory waterfowl after Minton explained the situation in the McHenrys' yard. The idea was ditched amid fears that a new regulation would irk bird-lovers and also unfairly punish people who occasionally toss slices of bread in the water.

Schuler said enacting a law against feeding waterfowl would allow animal control officers to post signs in hotspots and use the threat of a fine to stop people who habitually feed wildlife. He said that the problem is probably not going to go away.

"That's their meal ticket," Schuler said of the birds. "They don't have to work anymore because it's being handed to them."

Schuler said the average Canada goose puts out nearly three and a half pounds of waste in a 24-hour period. The problem is worse in the summer when the birds molt. He said dropping stale bread in a lake is what most people consider feeding the birds.

"But there's always an extreme," he said, "and it's taking it to that extreme that causes problems."

Experts from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries also frown on fowl feeding, according to spokeswoman Julia Dixon. She said these buffets change migratory patterns and concentrate them, making it easier for disease to spread from bird to bird.

"It can create a slew of problems," Dixon said. "We like to keep our wildlife wild."

The Mintons have even called in PETA for help.

"We're ultimately on the animals' side," Boyles said. "They're just responding to an invitation. People with the kindest of intentions can make birds dependent on humans and unable to forage for themselves."

Boyles said the ultimate irony is that the foods that most people toss to birds -- corn and bread -- are low in nutritional value.

Judy Dugdale's three dogs protect her Chesapeake Avenue yard from the birds, but she has seen some side effects.

"It's just a perfectly idiotic thing to do -- throwing food on the ground attracts rats," said Dugdale, who lives across the street from the water. "This is a neighborhood dispute that has escalated to ridiculous proportions."

Dugdale found a large dead rat in her backyard this year and has called in exterminators to clear her home and yard. She is amazed that the handouts are coming from the McHenrys' house especially because Mike McHenry is the president of the Olde Wythe Neighborhood Association and Anne McHenry is a vice president

"It's so antisocial," Dugdale said. "I can't believe anyone thinks that feeding a few old ducks is more important than neighborly relations." *